She’ll be right mate

Two former clients of IHRB said that Sam Cohen advised them that Minoxidil is safe for pregnant women. The patient information-sheet that is supposed to be given to clients is withheld. That information-sheet, prepared by the compounding pharmacist, says, ‘Use in Pregnancy must be avoided. Minoxidil has been reported to be excreted in breast milk.’

Sadly, Mr Sam Cohen does not give these information-sheets to his clients. I simply can’t believe that he can be so irresponsible. Not only does he withhold this information, he also dishes out misinformation, by telling women that his treatment is perfectly safe.

The information-sheet that I obtained from my own GP on the 29th of June 2010 says, ‘If pregnancy is desired, it is recommended that topical minoxidil be discontinued at least one month before birth control measures are discontinued. …Orally administered minoxidil has been associated with hypertrichosis in neonates following exposure to utero.’ Just so you know, the word hypertrichosis means the growing of unwanted hair, at random, in unwanted places. And the word ‘neonates’ refers to infants under four weeks old. Is this wow, or what!

And Mr Cohen will insist that it is safe. Click here for the story of one of the women. The other woman was so embarrassed, she did not wish to step into the limelight. She said that she would rather lose her money than have anyone know that she went to see IHRB.

What about pregnant men?

These warnings must be given to men as well because we might be sharing a home or office with someone who is pregnant. Mr Cohen wanted me to take Proscar. This product is not approved. Mr Cohen argues that Proscar is the same as the approved version called Propecia. He says that Proscar is cheaper although it is 5-times the dosage, so he wanted me to purchase it, and split the tablet into five tiny pieces.

First, we are talking about milligrams. A small, tiny tablet of Proscar contains 5 milligrams of Finasteride. Milli means ‘one thousand’. So imagine a tiny tablet that has 5 one-thousandth of a gram. Imagine that. And Mr Cohen wanted me to split it into five equal pieces. My goodness, how is that possible? The tablet is like chalk. Once it is broken, it crumbles and we end up with powered-like, dust-like bits all over the place, easily inhaled if airborne.

We now encounter two problems:

1) How can the male patient regulate a drug at home, using crude tablet-cutters, to somehow work out how to split a tablet so that only one milligram is taken each day?

2) The splitting of the tablet will create powder/dust of Finasteride on the desk, on the table, on utensils, in the room, in the air etc.

What’s the drama?

My dear reader, Finasteride is so powerful, that the manufacturer warns that pregnant women must not even ‘touch’ a broken tablet. Not even TOUCH it. And now we have men breaking tablets and creating a hazard in the room. A man might know if his wife is pregnant, but he might not know if anyone else around him is pregnant. And just touching a tablet can cause the genitals of a baby boy in the womb to become de-formed.

So it is vital that also the men are told about the dangers of using Finasteride, so that they do not release the power all over the place. Alas, as is becoming typical in this sad sage with Mr Cohen and IHRB, neither the men nor the women are informed about these dangers. And worse, they are misinformed, on purpose.

Years in breach of Sanctions

As at 19 August 2015, IHRB is 3 years & 289 days (that's 1,385 days) overdue on complying with the Sanctions set by the Complaints Resolution Panel which found that IHRB's ads have been 'unlawful, misleading, and unverified'. To learn more, see the 'Days in breach' section in the menu at the top of this page.

Days in breach of TGA Orders

As at 19 August 2015, Sam Cohen and IHRB are 544 days in breach of TGA Orders that demanded that IHRB stop its misleading, deceptive, and unlawful claims and to remove its statements from its website. The TGA also Ordered IHRB to publish a retraction on its website. Despite eventually publishing the retraction, IHRB is still in breach of these TGA Orders. Such a breach constitutes a criminal offence. To learn more, see the 'Days in breach' section in the menu at the top of this page.